Sparkling Troubles
by SpiderSilkTales
Summary: While on a mission, Bumblebee and Smokescreen are turned into what they never thought they'd be again... SPARKLINGS! How will the Autobots cope with two troublesome sparklings on their team? What happens when they find that the sparklings are diseased and handicapped? Will they ever become normal again? READ AND FIND OUT! NO PAIRINGS
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! I'm sorry! I know! Another story! But I can't help it! I have writer's ADHD! I promise I'll update the other stories soon!

This story is VERY Bumblebee centered. (Aren't they all? XD) Also Smokescreen. c:

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

**"-Bumblebee talking-"**

_Thoughts_

**: Comm link :**

Chapter: 1

Word Count: 1,015

Main Character(s): Bumblebee, Smokescreen

Warning(s): None

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

* * *

Run. Dodge. Kick Decepticon tailpipe! Bumblebee and Smokescreen ran through the raging battlefield, using the standard kicks to defeat their foes. They lurked in the 'Con shadows, waiting until they had enough 'Cons in one place to shoot. After finishing yet another round, Smokescreen sighed.

"How come we have to do this boring stuff while the others get to actually fight?" He whined, gesturing toward the battle scene in the center of the war field, where Arcee, Bulkhead, and Optimus Prime were fighting Starscream, Shockwave, and Megatron. Bumblebee followed Smokescreen's sigh and shrugged.

**"-I dunno. Maybe 'cuz we're kids?-"**

"Ugh, I guess." They ran through a cave and, once again, found a large pack of Vehicons. They hid behind a large boulder and waited for them to come closer. Suddenly a large explosion was heard. Bumblebee whipped his helm around to look and saw that where Smokescreen was so recently sitting, was a large smoking crater. He sensed a different presence and turned to it.

Soundwave was standing behind him with his thin arm pointed toward the crater. There was some sort of gun in his hand. The arm suddenly shot toward Bee and hovered in the air in front of his face. Slowly, the faceless helm turned to face him.

The last thing that Bumblebee saw before the world went black was the reflection of his own large, innocent eyes, begging for another few seconds of life.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Decepticons retreat!" Megatron bellowed through the war cries to his soldiers. Soundwave had flown up to him, transformed, and showed him a gun. After the entire armada had left, Arcee sighed.

"Well, that was odd." Bulkhead stated obviously. Optimus nodded.

"Indeed."

"But where are Bee and Smokescreen?" Arcee asked, confused. "Wouldn't they notice the entire Decepticon army just taking off like that?"

"I'll comm him." Bulkhead offered as he raised his hand to his audio receptor.

**: Bee? You there? :**

**: bzzzzzzzzzzt :**

Static was his only answer.

"Huh... no answer!" Bulkhead exclaimed, re-trying to reach the scout. Again, just static.

"Try Smokescreen," Optimus suggested. Bulkhead did so, and got the same answer: none.

"Nothin'!" He yelled, surprised. The others had become more than slightly worried in the time that it took Bulkhead to try and communicate with the younglings. In fact, they were especially worried due to the fact that the two were still younglings.

"Split and search!" Optimus shouted, though still in his commanding tone. They split to look for their missing comrades as the sun began its slow descent beyond the horizon.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After earth hours of searching, they still hadn't found anything. They were currently in a large cave, the sun almost completing its disappearance into the grassy hills beyond.

They were walking out when Arcee suddenly froze.

"What is it, Arcee?" Optimus asked.

"I.. I just... there was a... signal, like distress, but... but... ARGH!" she screamed, furious at her inability to process words. A small noise came from the back of the cave. Arcee looked up at her leader, then ran toward the sound. The two mechs heard her gasp loudly. They ran back, expecting to see a Decepticon trap, but instead seeing something very different. They stood, panic-stricken, as they stared at the scene before them. Neither could speak.

Arcee was sitting on the ground. In her arms, she held Bumblebee and Smokescreen. But... they were small. Bumblebee and Smokescreen had been changed into sparklets.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"How in SPARK'S NAME did you manage to CHANGE them into SPARKLETS?!" Ratchet bellowed at his teammates. Arcee sighed in annoyance.

"Like we said, we don't know! We found them like this!"

Ratchet had spent the entire night examining the unconscious sparklets, and had come up with no rational explanation.

The older 'bots stood in a circle in one of the Med-Bay's corners, talking about how the incident could have happened. There was a small scraping noise from the berths. Everybot turned their head. Smokescreen had sat up and was staring at them. Moments later, the mechling was raising his arms out toward Arcee. The femme rushed over and swept him into her arms, rocking him. He made the Cybertronian version of a giggle. This told her he was about a solar cycle old, as younger sparklings could not.. As she cooed, the male autobots were watching in awe. Well, except for Ratchet. He was nodding his head in a knowing matter.

"Uh, Ratchet?" Bulkhead asked tentatively. "Why is that stone-cold femme getting all gushy with Smokescreen?"

Ratchet sighed at his 'lack of sparkling knowledge'. "She is a femme. When a femme sees a sparkling, she will go into protective caretaker mode, whether it is her own sparkling or not."

"Oh." Bulkhead responded intelligently.

Meanwhile, Smokescreen had fallen into recharge in Arcee's arms. Ratchet walked over and, seeing him asleep, walked to his storage closet. Moments later, he was pulling a large sparkling-berth across the Med-Bay floor. Arcee gently laid Smokescreen in it. Sighing, she turned back toward the other members of her team.

"Well, that was interes-" Arcee was cut off as Bulkhead pointed to Bumblebee, whose optics were turning on. Due to his unique optic-style, he had to completely shut them off in order to recharge, and he never blinked. Arcee once again hurried over to him and cradled him. His optics were still extremely blue, but they were also extremely watery. She analyzed that he was even younger than Smokescreen, because the latter's eyes were normal. However, as she gently called his name, he didn't make a move to answer. Not even in sparkling-chatter.

"Bee?" She asked again. Once again, his optics didn't move in the sign that he had heard her speaking.

"Ratchet?" She called over the medic. He looked at her, slightly worried.

"What is it?"

Arcee pointed to Bumblebee, who was still staring at the same spot in the Med-Bay. "He's not answering. Not even acknowledging me."

Ratchet performed a scan on the scout's helm and frowned. Grabbing Bumblebee, he hurried over to another berth and placed stasis ports on the tiny bot's chassis.

"He's deaf!"


	2. Chapter 2

Holy cow custard! I did not expect this many hits in two days! Thanks to all of you who favorited and followed! Also, the only reason I'm updating so soon is because 1) I love sparkling Bee and Smokey ^w^ and 2) ALL THOSE FAVES / FOLLOWS / REVIEWS! This is my third most popular fic out of... six? Yeah. In two days! Geez. Thanks!

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

**"-Bumblebee talking-"**

_Thoughts_

**: Comm link :**

Chapter: 2

Word Count: 770

Main Character(s): Bumblebee, Smokescreen

Warning(s): None

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

* * *

"What?!" Bulkhead nearly screamed. He looked frightful for his 'little buddy' as Ratchet shoved him out of the Med-Bay for surgery to see what had caused Bumblebee's deafness. Arcee had quickly grabbed Smokescreen before Ratchet could push her out too. The medic gently reasoned with Optimus to get him to leave, too.

Arcee and Bulkhead sat in a corner of the Rec-Room with Smokescreen sitting between them. Optimus walked over to his monitor and began working, seeing as he had nothing better to do.

"Opt!" Smokescreen said, waving to Bulkhead. The receiver laughed.

"No, no. I'm Bulkhead!"

Smokescreen concentrated. "Bukeed!" He looked proudly at the mech.

"Hmm, let's try this: Bulk. Can you say that? Bulk?"

"Bulk!"

"Yeah! Good job buddy!" Arcee was looking at the two male Cybertronians. She decided to butt in.

"How about Arcee? Well, that's a little too hard. Cee? Can you say Cee?"

"Cee?"

"Yes! Awesome job!" Bulkhead raised his hand out for a high five, but the sparkling cowered away from it. Bulkhead's eyebrows raised.

"No, nothing to be afraid of. Hit it!"

Smokescreen tentatively put out his hand and smacked Bulkhead's much larger one. Bulkhead was smiling sparkling was looking at the two Autobots with interest. His eyes scanned them carefully. Suddenly, his vents started blasting air. The vents sputtered and then... stopped. His little faceplate turned an unnatural shade of purple. Arcee gasped.

"W-what's happening?!" she screeched. Optimus looked over with his forever stoic expression, but that quickly changed as he saw the small sparkling writhing on the ground.

"Smokescreen!" he sort-of-yelled, briskly walking to said sparkling. Picking him up, he placed his smallest vent to one of Smokescreen's main ones, and blew with all his might. After a few seconds, the vents sputtered back to life.

"Opt!" Smokescreen said again, smiling and waving. The three older bots sighed in relief.

"What was that?" Bulkhead wondered aloud. Optimus shook his head.

"I do not know. We must wait for Ratchet to complete Bumblebee's examination to do the same to Smokescreen."

Speaking of Smokescreen, the sparkling was waving his tiny arms at the floor, trying to reach it. Optimus slowly let him down, but did not walk back to the monitor.

They heard a door open. Every head turned. It was Ratchet.

"Ratchet, old friend, we have a situation." Optimus looked at Ratchet with a look that seemed to be asking for permission to continue.

"Well unless it's Cons, I'm pretty sure mine is bigger." Optimus looked skeptical, but nodded. "I removed Bumblebee's helm armor and saw the issue right away. The energon lines that go to his audio receptors are somehow dented, rendering him deaf. The issue is, however, that the dents will not budge. Not even when I torched them. This leads me to believe that Bumblebee has been deaf or partly deaf his entire life." Ratchet paused to let this new information soak in. "But that's not even the worst problem. As I was scanning his helm for further damage, I noticed two more energon lines were blocked. But these went to his optics. Bumblebee is also blind."

Arcee's vents made a sharp intake. "So is that why he wouldn't look at me, even when I waved his hand in front of him?" Ratchet nodded.

"That is indeed grave news, but I'm afraid we also have some of our own." Ratchet nodded for Optimus to continue. "As we were waiting for you to finish your scans, Smokescreen's vents stopped. He began to writhe on the floor. I used my vents to re-activate his, but I'm afraid this is more than a one-time predicament."

Ratchet nodded. "This is uncommon with sparklings, but not impossible. If a spark feels that it needs energon to perform well elsewhere, it will redirect the energon to the new area. There is a disease that causes the spark to think that the energon is not needed in areas where it is. It takes even the most important energon for the new organ. Where you teaching Smokescreen something?"

Arcee nodded. "How to talk."

"That would be why his vents stopped working. The energon being used to power his vents was transported to his processor to aid in the absorption of knowledge. I'm afraid there is no known cure to this disease..."

Bulkhead looked to the floor, but suddenly looked back up. "But wait, why wasn't Smokescreen having troubles before he turned young again?"

****Ratchet shook his head. "There is no logical explanation... unless... oh. I think... I think this may have been caused by the transformation. For which... for which there is no solution."


	3. Chapter 3

Again, holy cow custard. All your follows are very encouraging! I didn't think that this would be such a hit! A little bit of info for the chapter: this one takes a huge turn. Just sayin'. You may not like it at all. Oh, well. I'll let my German muse do the rest this time. *rolls away into the sunset*

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

**"-Bumblebee talking-"**

_Thoughts_

**: Comm link :**

Chapter: 3

Word Count: 693

Main Character(s): Bumblebee, Smokescreen

Warning(s): None

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

* * *

"Primus... this is just awful." Bulkhead looked to his huge feet.

Arcee nodded. "I can't imagine what I'd do if I... lost two more comrades to something as simple as this."

Ratchet's helm shook in dismay. "But it's not simple. Not at all. If we were to have a Decepticon attack, the sparklings would immediately attract attention."

"Which means that we will not be attending any energon searches, no matter the gain." Optimus looked distraught at the fact that they were unable to stop the enemies acquire energon so easily.

*2 Months Later*

The Autobots had indeed not taken part in energon collection. The Decepticons had begun to wonder what their usual foes were up to; maybe planning an attack. They would've been surprised at what they were actually doing. They had been doing their best to keep the sparklings busy without letting them know of each others' diseases. Well, Smokescreen at least - they didn't want him to worry.

Breaking the older bots out of their trances, a tiny helm peeked out of the sparkling berth. Smokescreen's eyes looked worried. Ratchet and Arcee made their way over to the berth, seeing what was the matter. Smokescreen was trying to speak to the other sparkling that occupied the berth. He desperately called his name:

"Bee! Bee!"

Arcee looked at Ratchet, and after coming to a silent agreement, picked up the near-tears sparkling.

"Shh, shh, don't worry. Bee's... okay." She lied. She didn't want the little guy to fret about something other than the norm of a sparkling.

"Bee?" Smokescreen pestered. Arcee somehow got the gist of what he was asking for: an explanation. She sighed and sat him down on the floor.

"Well, little guy... the truth is, Bee's got some problems with his chassis. He can't see or hear you and me."

"No Opt?" Smokescreen asked, confused at what Arcee had said: only she and him were not heard by Bee.

"Bee can't hear or see any of us. But he's not the only one with problems..."

"Ratch?" Smokescreen guessed. Arcee shook her head and pointed her thin finger toward his spark chamber. He looked down, pointed at it, and looked back up, asking if he had the right answer. She nodded.

"Smoke have pwob?" He asked, fear entering his optics.

"You have energon going away from your vents to help your processor learn, like a big mech." She added that last part to make him feel good about how he was at the moment.

Suddenly, Wheeljack burst through the main doors to the base and shouted, "I've got it! Finally, I've got it!"

Ratchet yelled as he held his hand over his spark, "PRIMUS, WHEELJACK! You nearly gave me a spark attack!"

"Wheeljack, what is the reason of your coming to the base?" Optimus asked calmly. Wheeljack held up a device.

"This'll help Bee and Smokes get older!" He exclaimed proudly. Arcee gasped, not wanting the cute sparklings to get older. But before she could protest, Wheeljack pointed it at the sparkling sitting next to her and fired.

"WHEELJACK! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT-" He was cut off by a small voice.

"Why are you yelling, Ratchet?"

The bots looked in surprise at the small white, red, and blue youngling before them. He stared back, confused.

"...works," Ratchet finished, gaping. Wheeljack smirked and pointed it to the now sleeping Bumblebee.

"WAIT!" Ratchet quickly yelled, making Wheeljack hesitate. "We don't know what it could do to him..."

The inventor lowered the 'dangerous' device, but quickly shot it at the weak sparkling.

"No!" Optimus shouted, giving a rare show of emotion. A clank came from the sparkling berth.

**"-H-hello?-"** An even smaller voice than Smokescreen's beeped out.

"Bumblebee!" Ratchet gasped, even though he knew the youngling couldn't hear him. The little youngling was standing up in the berth. His optics were unfocused and staring at the fourth wall.

**"-Excuse me, could you tell me why I can't see?-"** He asked innocently.

The bots gasped again.

"C-can you hear us?" Bulkhead asked. Bumblebee tilted his head in confusion.

**"-Yes, of course I can.-"**

****The bots sharply vented once again. Bumblebee could hear again.


	4. Chapter 4

Herp derp. Yes, another Author's Note. Love talkin' to you guys. I really do. Also, this chapter is _slightly _cheesy, and very weird. Very, _very _weird. ANYWAY. This story has more views than Fading Yellow! The crazy thing is, this was written like a month and a half after that! Thanks for almost 1,000 (992) views!

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

**"-Bumblebee talking-"**

_Thoughts_

**: Comm link :**

Chapter: 4

Word Count: 787

Main Character(s): Bumblebee, Smokescreen

Warning(s): None

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

* * *

"Aahaha! You can't catch me!"

Ratchet sighed for the twentieth time that day. Bulkhead had become so attached to the younglings that he forgot to go on his scouting mission. He, Smokescreen, and Bumblebee had been playing tickle fight.

"Bulkhead! For Primus' sake, will you please go on your scouting mission?!" Ratchet finally lost it as Bulkhead almost dropped the blind youngling. As the 'green machine' walked reluctantly through the ground bridge, Ratchet thought of all the bad things that could've happened to the younglings in this not-so-innocent game.

For one, Smokescreen's vents could have shut down again, rendering him helpless under large mech feet. Second, Bumblebee's inability to see could've let him step unknowingly under another large foot. Ratchet picked up the small younglings and carried them to the large Rec-Room. He sat on the ground, temporarily leaving the monitors to talk to them.

**"-Ratchet?-"** Bumblebee asked, wondering who his handler was.

"Yes, it is I."

Smokescreen giggled at that. "R-Ratchet... Hatchet... teehee!"

Ratchet once again sighed, now for the twenty first time. The younglings had started wrestling near his lap, and he scooched a little to allow them room.

**"-Smokes? Where you at?-"** Bumblebee asked, waving his arms out in front of himself. Smokescreen crawled below his arms and crept up behind him. He pushed the younger one playfully to the ground.

"BOO!"

Instantly, Bumblebee started crying his unseeing optics out. Coolant was pouring down his face. Smokescreen looked concerned and tried to console his friend.

"Bumblebee? Smokescreen?" Ratchet grabbed their attention. The little bots turned their heads. "Do... do you..." Ratchet had to choose his words carefully. "Do you-"

A large boom sounded from directly above their heads as Vehicons jumped through the now gaping hole in the roof.

**: Optimus! Get the others! The base is under attack! :** Ratchet commed his leader.

**: Understood. We will be there shortly. :**

Ratchet scooped up the younglings and shielded them from upcoming attack. Suddenly, the Vehicons stopped advancing.

"So, it looks like my faithful communications officer has done his job quite nicely."

Bumblebee whined, clinging to Smokescreen at the loud, booming voice coming from above them. Then, Megatron himself stepped through the hole.

"Ah, it seems that you and I meet again, scout. But this time, you are a mere youngling, only four stellar cycles of age! You will not leave this encounter alive!"

"Leave my friend alone!" Smokescreen spoke up. Ratchet quickly put his hand over the youngling's mouth, but Megatron was sneering.

"I see you have trouble keeping your mouth shut, as this scout did before I-" Megatron cut himself off as he heard a whimper. Looking toward the sound, he guessed that it was that cursed Bumblebee that made the pitiful noise. On further examination, however, he saw that the young scout was not looking at him. He had a face of complete and utter terror, but was staring blankly at a wall.

"What is wrong with this youngling?" His voice dripped not with evil, but instead with disgust and confusion.

"He is _blind_, thanks to your 'faithful communications officer'!" Ratchet yelled in anger. Megatron once again looked confused, but that was replaced a nanosecond later by sneering pride.

"Ah, Soundwave. You know how I love little surprises..." Megatron looked a little behind himself, and only then did Ratchet see that the Third-in-Command was present.

All of a sudden, there was another crashing sound as more bots slammed into the room.

"Megatron, I suggest that you leave the premises immediately."

Ratchet once again sighed, but this time in relief. Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead had arrived. Megatron had his feeble Vehicon drones attack, but they were quickly annihilated as Optimus used his blades to strike through the ranks.

Megatron called for a Decepticon swarmed through the hole in the ceiling, trying to get out before the rest came barreling up behind them. This continued until every Decepticon was gone from the room. Except one.

He had gotten trampled by the Vehicons, and was lying on the ground offline. Smokescreen scurried over to the mech's limp body and poked the back of his helm. The now online mech turned his helm toward the poker, and Team Prime gasped. It was Soundwave.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Ratchet was very against taking Soundwave in. The mech was currently offline again. Arcee and Bulkhead argued that the mech was unable to move anything but his helm, so he posed no threat.

Optimus took a different, more resourceful argument."Soundwave must come back online at some point. When he does, we can use his knowledge and intellect to help us find energon. We also can use his knowledge of Smokescreen and Bumblebee's transformation to... tell us why they are diseased."


	5. Chapter 5

ASWJHFSKJDFVHNKJ SORRY

Sorry for the immensely long wait for this chapter. Final exams and summer projects were devouring June at an alarming rate. BTW, wish me a happy birthday, as of last weekend! Yay!

Anyway, enjoy this chapter that's too short to even be considered one.

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

**"-Bumblebee talking-"**

_Thoughts_

**: Comm link :**

Chapter: 1

Word Count: 637

Main Character(s): Bumblebee, Smokescreen

Warning(s): None

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

* * *

"It's mine!"

**"-No, it's mine!-"**

Ratchet growled. His nerve circuits were already on edge from the recent capture of Soundwave, and these sparklings were not helping. Not one bit. Finally, after suffering all he could of yelling and screeching, he slammed down the tool he was working with.

"Will you two, for Primus' sake, QUIET DOWN?!"

The two quickly reacted to the shouting. They stood stock-still, Smokescreen looking at the medic with fear. Ratchet looked at Bumblebee with pity as the little bot stood. He was facing the opposite direction.

"Bumblebee, I'm over here."

**"-Oops, sorry, Ratch...-"**

"That's all right. Now, I know you two want to have all the fun you can handle, but right now..." Ratchet stole a glance at the dark form he was currently studying. "... right now, I need you to be extra quiet. Okay?"

The two nodded. "Hey, 'Bee, wanna play wrestling? We can turn off our vocal capacitators," Smokescreen suggested. Bumblebee nodded enthusiastically. Ratchet quietly chuckled at Smokescreen's attempt at saying a word his processor couldn't... process.

As the two little ones wrestled, Ratchet turned back to his patient. Soundwave's chassis was unlike any other he had seen before... and that was saying something. As a medic, he had seen every type naturally born from the allspark. Soundwave must have upgraded his... or even rebuilt it from scratch. As Ratchet performed an internal scan, he gasped.

Soundwave didn't have one processor.

He had _two_. This explained why he was able to store so much information. His primary 'brain' had already been filled to the brim with data and files... a feat that Ratchet couldn't complete in his entire lifetime. To add to the absurdity of the amount of information Soundwave held, his secondary processor was already _half-filled_. Soundwave must have billions of trillions of data files stored away. Many of them belonging to the decepticon cause.

Being so immersed in his musings, Ratchet was immensely startled when a light ping sounded from Soundwave's face.

_Recharge: 40% complete._

Ratchet paused a moment. He was staring at the blank void of black that every mech thought as Soundwave's face. He wondered, was that really the case? Or was it just a visor?

He tentatively raised his arms to the helm. His fingers gripped the seams around the edge of the plate, and he gingerly pulled. It didn't budge. He ran the fingers along the edge, feeling for anything. His fingers felt small outdents, suggesting latches. He pressed firmly on them, and slowly raised the device.

He gasped immediately.

He had been expecting something completely different. Old. Battle scarred. Horribly mangled. Anything, _anything _but this. It was like fine china, like it hadn't seen the light of day in stellar cycles. Which it probably hadn't.

Another light ping brought his attention back to the visor.

_Recharge: 80% complete._

Ratchet felt a light touch on his foot. Looking down, he saw it was Smokescreen.

"Waz dat?"

Ratchet sighed. This... is Soundwave."

Smokescreen looked confused. "Good guy?"

"No, no," Ratchet answered, shaking his head. "_Very _bad guy."

"Oh. Can I see?"

Ratchet started to deny his request when he heard a small noise. Bumblebee was standing next to the berth-post, snuffling. He looked like he was holding back...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACHOOOOOOOOOOO!"

... a sneeze. Ratchet looked in horror at the recharging Decepticon, expecting him to have wakened. He was about to sigh in relief when he heard another noise at his feet.

Bumblebee had lost his balance from the pure force of the sneeze, and was staggering around the berth-post. Ratchet leaned down to catch him, but barely missed his tiny chassis as Bumblebee's helm smashed into the berth-post...

_CLANGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

_Recharge: Interrupted._

Ratchet could only watch in horror as Soundwave's optics shot open, staring directly at the sparklings who, in their sparkling innocence, didn't notice a thing.


	6. Chapter 6

Ok. There's NO talking in this chapter. I had to make a transition between this chapter and the next, as they just didn't _flow_. Also, sorry for the wait. Really. Been pretty busy lately.

SPOILERS FOR TFP:BH EPISODE 'MINUS ONE'

Did you see the latest episode?

Oh my gosh! I've been waiting for him to talk for years! Literally! How awesome is it that his first words are his catch-prase? Very. Can't wait for 'Persuation' to come out tomorrow.

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

**"-Bumblebee talking-"**

_Thoughts_

**: Comm link :**

Chapter: 6

Word Count: No idea. Sorry.

Main Character(s): Bumblebee, Smokescreen

Warning(s): None

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

* * *

Ratchet's optics widened in horror as the dark mech slowly raised his chassis so that he was sitting upright. His long, thin legs moved to dangle off the egde of the medical berth. He smoothly reached over and scooped up his visor.

His optics never left Ratchet's face.

Standing up, he snapped the mask onto his face. Ignoring the sparklings quivering at his feet, he walked over to Ratchet. Though he was only a few feet taller than the medic, Ratchet felt like Soundwave loomed over him by hundreds. Soundwave stood stock still for a few Earth minutes.

Ratchet began to reach up his hand to activate his comm. link, but one of Soundwave's glowing tentacles lashed out and attached to the mesh covering his spark chamber. Electricity pulsed through the appendage, successfully knocking out the CMO.

The Decepticon stood, admiring his handiwork for a moment, before turning around. Bumblebee and Smokescreen were nowhere to be seen. As he turned to leave, he noticed a large monitor standing by what looked like a powered-down Ground Bridge. Lazerbeak deployed from his chest, transforming from chest armor to a small bird. Soundwave silently commanded the bird to scout the area outside the base, both watching for the Autobots' return _and _finding the exact location.

Once Lazerbeak flew through a large door, Soundwave strode to the monitor. There were six energy signatures on the main screen. Three were steady, one was very sluggish (presumably the medic's sparkrate, as the electric shock must have slowed his systems some), and two showed up as quick and erratic (these most likely belonged to the sparklings; sparklings had generally faster sparkrates due to their small size, and these must be afraid of him, explaining the spasmodic rhythm).

Soundwave once more unleashed his tentacles, but instead of latching onto a Cybertronian, they hooked onto USB ports in the monitor. He made his way through their mainframe. Several extremely heavy firewalls popped up, but he decrypted them with ease and continued his hack. Once he had the entire database protection-free, be began his download.

His secondary processor had barely enough space to fit everything inside it. His visor alerted him of the completion of the download. He began to turn away, thinking his work was complete, but one last sight met his optics. A small folder of data, tucked away from the rest. It was unnamed, so he decided to find out for himself what was kept inside.

As soon as he hacked into it, he was met by a firewall. A very feeble one, at that. He began to question his find, but was interrupted. An extremely loud alarm had been triggered by his hack. Soundwave didn't even flinch. He went back into the main folder of data and looked into the security files. By applying a simple hack code, he was able to shut down the alarm.

His faint relief of not attracting any bots was short-lived. A small whimper came from across the base. He slowly walked back to the medical berth. Finding nothing on or around it, he looked underneath.

Two small sparklings were huddled in the corner, very deep in - too far for his (admittedly long) arms. He stood back to his full height and let his tentacles slither toward their prey. Two satisfying squeaks of fear and surprise met his audio receptors.

Lifting them up from underneath their small arms, he looked into their opticss. The slightly larger one was looking at him with a mixture of utter terror and, surprisingly, defiance. The smaller one's large optics were emmitting fear and innocence, while trying to focus. They were very blind optics indeed. His attention was turned towards the unconscious medic as he stirred, slowly coming to.

The 'Con walked silently to the Ground Bridge and activated it. Without a word (as usual), Soundwave's light frame transformed, forcing the sparklings into the cockpit, and flew through the green-blue swirl, leaving behind the sounds of a distressed, angry, and very sleepy medic.

As Soundwave emerged from the other end of the Ground Bridge, he deactivated it with his visor. Flying up to the _Nemesis_, directly above his head, he thought: _'Megatron will be pleased. An entire database, _and _two of the Autobots. Quite pleased_ indeed.'


	7. Chapter 7

**PLEASE READ. IMPORTANT INFORMATION.**

**Wow! My (second) newest story has also become my most popular! Thanks to those reviewers who reviewed on the last chapter! prowlingcat, Earth-1, moonshadow2012, thePegasus-ponyPrime, Tanisa Bumblebrasil, Girl Supersonicboy, and Sammywolfstar, you guys are awesome!**

**I AM NOW A BETAREADER! IF YOU LOOK AT MY STORIES, YOU CAN SEE THAT I USE ONLY THE BEST GRAMMAR! I DO NOT HAVE A BETAREADER FOR MY STORIES! IF YOU WANT ME TO BETAREAD FOR A NEW STORY THAT YOU ARE WRITING, PM ME!**

**Chatting With The Transformers: I will NOT be continuing this story. According to an ananymous reviewer, this story breaks many rules. It will NOT, however, be deleted from Fanfiction, just no longer in progress. Sorry to leave ya with only two chapters.**

**Lloyd Garmadon's Life Story: On (indefinite) hiatus. I don't know when I'll have my plot bunnies return.**

**Okay. Enough with that boring (and, for some, depressing) news. I have noticed that I am updating about every month. So if you're wondering, expect it to be updated about this time every month.**

**AND OHMYGOD. LAST EPISODE OF TF PRIME COMES OUT IN TWO DAYS! I CANNOT WAIT! BUT I CAN AT THE SAME TIME, BECAUSE IT'S THE LAST!**

**Ooookay, back to the normal story stuff.**

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

**"-Bumblebee talking-"**

_Thoughts_

**: Comm link :**

Chapter: 7

Word Count: 631

Main Character(s): Ratchet

Warning(s): None

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

* * *

As Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus, and Optimus Prime walked through the Ground Bridge, theyloudly gasped. Ratchet was on the monitor, frantically typing away at something unknown. The control panel was torn open, several wires dangling loosely, almost like someone had tried to sabotage the mainframe database. But what really shocked them was the medic's face. Ratchet only used his extremely worried face at the worst of times, like when a bot was dying in his arms. This was one of those times.

"Ratchet? Are you alright, old friend?" Optimus asked gently. Ratchet half-turned around to answer, but was cut off by a certain purple and pink femme.

"Where's Soundwave? And where are Smokescreen and Bumblebee?!"

Ratchet's face only grew more worried, if that was even possible. "No, I'm not! Soundwave just took off with our entire database of information, and the sparklings!"

"Scrap." Wheeljack muttered angrily. Bulkhead quickly stepped forward.

"Well, I say we go look for 'em!"

"-Like, now." Arcee all but demanded. Ratchet sighed.

"I've tried everything to pick up their signals. I'll try to fix this control panel and see if that helps."

"While you are doing that, you may tell us what exactly happened." Optimus suggested.

"Good idea," Ultra Magnus agreed.

Ratchet had already shoved a few wires back into the panel when he started speaking, "I was studying Soundwave's form. I swear, that mech is either completely custom built, or not Cybertronian. His circuitry is so complex. And his primary processor is already full of information- imagine that! None of us are even halfway through ours! He even has a secondary processor, which is half filled! Can- can you imagine?! What it must be like to contain all that information within you? And now, he's gone and downloaded our entire database, a feat that would overload our processors about 20 times-"

"Okay, get on with it!" Arcee snapped.

"Well, I had taken off his visor, to look at his... face. The sparklings walked up and started asking me about him. Thought he was a good guy- puh-leeze! As if. His system repairs were interrupted when Bumblebee sneezed and hit his helm on the berthpost- look there, you can see the dent- and he... he looked at me. I remember him deploying his tentacles and reaching them towards my spark chamber, but that's all. I can assume he used electricity to shut down my systems. Ah, there we are. Now that it's fixed-"

His words were cut off as a small pinging noise sounded in his helm. The sound of a received comm. He hurriedly opened it. It was a short one.

**: ratchet help me and bee on nemesis help :**

It was from Smokescreen. Another ping interrupted his gasp- it was a set of coordinates from Bumblebee.

"Impossible..." Ratchet let his gasp out. The others were staring at him, thoroughly confused. Their faces clearly sought for an explanation. "I just got a message from Smokescreen and coordinates from Bumblebee. But... they're on the Nemesis."

"Whaaat?" Bulkhead asked.

"They shouldn't be able to know their coordinates, let alone communicate with us." Ultra Magnus observed.

"Okay, so let's go! Who knows what the 'Cons have done to them already?" Arcee demanded.

"We will immediately rendezvous at the coordinates. Ratchet, send them to us and be prepared to open the ground bridge in five separate locations. We cannot afford to attract attention by traveling in a group. Ratchet, you will be staying at the base. Comm. us if you see or need anything." Optimus's orders immediately took action.

As the last Autobot traveled through the last Ground Bridge, Ratchet commed both Bumblebee and Smokescreen.

**: Hold on, little ones. Help is on the way. :**


	8. Chapter 8

**SPOILER ALERT. THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF DEADLOCK. I WOULD SUGGEST WATCHING THE EPISODE BEFORE READING THIS, AS I HAVE BLOWN THIS EXTREMELY OUT OF PROPORTION. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.**

**AND WELCOME, TO THE 74TH ANNUAL- okay, nevermind. **

**Thanks for continued support. I guess allot of people like the story? Hehe.**

**I get to go to Comic Con this Friday, I can't wait. I'm seeing the creator of most of the Marvel characters and getting a picture and a signature. How cool is that?**

**I AM NOW A BETAREADER! IF YOU LOOK AT MY STORIES, YOU CAN SEE THAT I USE ONLY THE BEST GRAMMAR! I DO NOT HAVE A BETAREADER FOR MY STORIES! IF YOU WANT ME TO BETAREAD FOR A NEW STORY THAT YOU ARE WRITING, PM ME!**

**Expect this story to be updated about every month.**

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

**"-Bumblebee talking-"**

_Thoughts_

**: Comm link :**

Chapter: 7

Word Count: 902

Main Character(s): Megatron, Smokescreen, Bumblebee

Warning(s): SPOILER ALERT. THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF DEADLOCK. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

* * *

Megatron was in the main room of his supership, the Nemesis. He was awaiting the successful arrival of his communications officer and two Autobots. Several drones had been wandering in and out continuously for a few hours now, and he was becoming impatient. Had it been any other one of his officers (like Shockwave, Knockout, and especially Starscream) he would have been waiting for a few more hours at least.

But Soundwave never took this long.

The Dark Lord began to wonder if anything had gone wrong. Sure, the odds were stacked heavily against Soundwave, but Megatron believed it a simple task for a mech like his trusted officer.

The silence of the room was very suddenly broken as a green-blue swirling Ground Bridge appeared not ten feet away from his form. Megatron tried to hide the fact that he had startled and jumped by shooting deadly glares at the drones whom had seen. They scurried away while they still could.

Soundwave walked through the portal with an air of superiority, mystery, and dignity. Megaton had his back to the portal, so he simply stretched his left arm to the side, palm outstretched. He felt a small weight gently fall onto his hand, and only then did he turn to face his highly ranked officer.

In his palm lay two crying sparklings.

"Thank you, Soundwave, for your more than successful mission," Megatron praised. He did not usually thank his officers for anything, but this was an exception.

Soundwave nodded and walked to his beloved monitor, where he would likely remain for the next 8 or 9 Earth hours.

Megatron slowly strode to Shockwave's lab. The sparklings were no longer crying, he realized, as he walked through the giant lab doors. The two were quietly sitting, holding onto his fingers for life. They'd be more than surprised that, if they were stronger, the action may have been enough to save their lives.

Shockwave looked up from his work and greeted his master.

"Lord Megatron. The Lock is at these coordinates-"

Shockwave began to relay their exact position to Megatron. He was not worried that the word would get out to the Autobots. The sparklings were too stupid to even know what he was talking about.

He could not begin to imagine how wrong he was.

Smokescreen sent a message through the Autobot comm. link while Bumblebee sent through the exact coordinates that Shockwave had just revealed. Both messages were obviously saying one thing- HELP US NOW.

But when Megatron commanded Shockwave, "Activate it. Now," they knew that no one would be there in time.

The floor slid back to reveal the Earth's surface, but there was something wrong with the picture. There was a huge structure hanging from the underside of the ship, pointing directly toward the small town of Jasper, Nevada.

Soundwave had gotten the coordinates for the base's location.

Bumblebee made a small, heartbroken whirr. Raf. He may have been a sparkling, but he still remembered his best friend.

Smokescreen and Bumblebee watched helplessly as the device filled with SynthEn. They waited for the telltale earsplitting noise that would come with the shot, but it never happened.

A door slammed open on the other side of the Lock.

"Ratchet!" Smokescreen cried, as Bumblebee beeped and whirred in relief.

"Megatron, set the sparklings down NOW." Optimus's deep commanding voice traveled across the hole with ease.

"Ah, Optimus. I didn't think you would be joining us today," Megatron sneered, but everyone could hear the hint of fear in his tone.

The rest of the Autobots streamed through the door. All together, they looked powerful.

Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus all stood at the ready, waiting for the fight that would inevitably come.

Soon enough, Starscream, his armada, and his soldiers began to pile into the room, adjusting to the battle scene before them.

"Attack!" Starscream ordered the troops.

A battle clashed around the abyss that would surely offline anyone who fell into it. The Autobots were obviously struggling with keeping a lead on the absurd amount of Decepticon drones.

Optimus tore his way through the armada, slicing through some and stabbing others.

"Decepticons! Attack Optim-" Megatron's command was interrupted as Optimus's massive updated frame slammed into his form.

Every single bot was watching as the sparklings seemed to fall from Megatron's iron fist in slow motion. No one made a move. Except Megatron.

From underneath Optimus's massive frame, he could see the very expressions on their faces. Horrified. Confused. He raised the arm with the dark fusion cannon and shot at them.

The shot hit Bumblebee.

Smokescreen had been directly behind Bumblebee from Megatron's point of view. As Bumblebee's small frame was rocketed backward from the force of the hit, Smokescreen had been pushed away from Megatron and landed on a side of the Lock.

The second shot.

Bumblebee's chest was now on fire. His optics showed a mixture of terror and extreme pain. He had no idea what was happening.

The last.

It hit with such force that Bumblebee's chassis was torn apart, barely holding itself together. Every optic wide, every mouth gaping, as Bumblebee's optics flickered, then went out.

He fell into the Lock. His light form rested on the surface of the blue-green liquid for several moments before slowly sinking underneath.

And everyone watched as their last hope disappeared under the surface of the Omega Lock.


	9. Author's Note

Hello my loyal followers! I am Megatron! Not really! But still you follow me! So there!

Anyway. **I AM STILL ALIVE**.

I have been _soooooo _busy in High School... and after-school sports... ugh. Homework... need I say more?

Anyway, I will NOT be updating again this week. Homecoming! SO EXCITED!

I will try to update on Monday.

**I may even update this week if you're good followers and encourage me with reviews.**

Sorry about that cliffhanger, by the way. I know you all hate me for it.

Keep on swimmin'!

~SpiderSilkTales


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